In a statement published on 27 January 2010, the Ministry for Modernisation and Innovation of the Spanish Autonomous Region of Galicia said it wants to boost the use of free and open source software by its public administrations and citizens, by bringing together all its previous initiatives on open source.

Previous initiatives on free and open source software have not yet resulted in an increased uptake by public administrations, companies or citizens, writes the ministry. "These actions were isolated and lacked coordination and an overall strategy".

One of these earlier activities is the 'Mancomun open source reference and service centre', which started in 2005 and aims to provide resources and services for regional innovative IT companies.

The government wants to remedy the lack of uptake of open source with a promotion campaign, technical workshops and other initiatives. It is calling for proposals for such a campaign, to be submitted to the Foundation for the Promotion of Industrial Quality and Technological Development ('Fundación para o Fomento da Calidade Industrial e o Desenvolvemento Tecnolóxico de Galicia' in Galician).

This foundation will decide on the activities together with other groups, such as the universities, the association of Galician Free Software companies and the user groups of free and open source software.

"The ministry for the Modernisation and Technological Innovation firmly decided to invest in measures that will help to increase the use of free software." says the ministry in its statement.  "This type of software helps overcome the digital divide and allows a more efficient use of public resources."

Further information:

• Original news article - OSOR.EU